Recap: Rhode Island vs. Loyola-Maryland

Kingston, RI (Sports Network) - Robert Olson made a three-pointer to force overtime and scored the go-ahead bucket in the extra session to lift the Loyola-Maryland Greyhounds to a 58-54 victory in a thriller at the Ryan Center.

Olson finished with a game-high 20 points as he willed Loyola (5-1) to the win. Erik Etherly added a double-double of 11 points and 10 rebounds and Anthony Winbush handed out five assists. The Greyhounds have now won four games in a row.

In his first game back from suspension, Nikola Malesevic led the Rams (0-5) with 16 points and six rebounds off the bench before fouling out. Xavier Munford chipped in 14 points and six rebounds while Andre Malone tallied 11 points. Jordan Hare grabbed a game-high 16 rebounds, blocked seven shots, and scored eight points for URI, which is still winless after five outings.

The Rams made 40.7 percent of their field goal attempts before halftime to take a 26-25 lead into the intermission. Although Loyola shot just 34.4 percent from the floor including a mere 2-of-12 from beyond the arc, it went into the break down by just one point after forcing the hosts into six turnovers.

Rhode Island struggled in the second half as it managed to make only 8-of-24 attempts from the floor and missed eight of 15 shots at the free throw line. The Greyhounds were unable to create any distance on the scoreboard as they shot an even more 30 percent from the floor over the final 20 minutes.

Munford added a pair of free throws late in regulation to give Rhode Island a 50-47 lead. Tyler Hubbard set up Olson for the game-tying three-pointer with just five seconds left. The Rams had a chance, but Munford's three-pointer at the buzzer missed.

Munford made up for it by hitting a trey to begin the overtime, but the Greyhounds tied the score as Jordan Latham scored three straight points. Hare made one free throw to give URI a one-point lead, but Olson had a big time stretch in which he made a layup, stole the ball from Andre Malone, then made a jumper to put Loyola on top by three points. Munford and Malesevic both missed game-tying three-point attempts and Cormier iced it at the free throw line.

The Rams committed 13 turnovers in the contest, which turned out to be costly as Loyola was guilty of just six miscues.